Occasionally, somebody will write in to Lost and Found asking for help finding their old car. While we’re not a detective agency here at Hemmings and can’t spend the time tracking down each and every such request, what we can do is post notice here on the blog with whatever information and photos the submitter gives us, and hope the members of the Hemmings Nation can help out. Similar to how we help get the word out about stolen vehicles.

Eric West of Portland, Maine, is one such submitter. He wrote to us late last year looking for his great-grandfather’s Cadillac:

I photographed the car as it first saw the light of day after 43 years. My Great grandmother instructed that the car be put up for storage after my Grandmother said she was tired of driving it because of having to pump what I believe is the fuel delivery pump to the left of the steering wheel. That was back in 1936. The next time the garage doors were opened was when I opened them in 1979.

During those 43 years the Cadillac did not sit alone. My self and my many cousins used it as our “playhouse” during the 1950s and 1960s. People ask me now why I am such a car nut, well I think spending all those years taking imaginary rides in that Cadillac is what did it.

The car was sold in 1979 to a restorer in Yonkers, New York. My cousin who arranged the sale died shortly after so I have lost touch with the purchaser. To this day I have dreamed of going for a ride in Great-Grandfather’s Cadillac. My Great grandmother’s name was Ollie Brown from Englewood, New Jersey. My Great Grandmother, my Grandmother and my Aunt were all in tears as we watched the Cadillac being towed away.

Eric also included a note about the car’s possible use during Prohibition for bootlegging booze from Canada to New Jersey. Then again, it seems just about every car that existed during Prohibition was used for bootlegging. For further identification, Eric included the serial number – 121913.

So consider this an APB for a 1926 Cadillac phaeton. If you know its whereabouts, we’ll put you in touch with Eric.